Baptist University of America is a now defunct college that was located in Decatur, Georgia near Atlanta. It was made up of a merger of five separate seminaries.
In 1965, Pastor Al Janney began offering college classes. In 1971, he incorporated Baptist University of America, which the classes became part of. Temple Heights Christian College (founded in 1973 by the pastor of Temple Heights Baptist Church), Tallahassee Christian College (founded in 1974 by the pastor of Temple Baptist Church), Regency Baptist College (founded in 1974 by the pastor of Regency Baptist Church), and University Baptist College (founded in 1974 by the pastor of University Baptist Church) merged with Baptist University of America in 1974 and retained the Baptist University of America name. The pastors of Forrest Hills Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia and Bible Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia also supported the new organization. Tampa was used as the campus in the spring of 1974, but it was moved to an Atlanta campus in December of that year.
Baptist University of America was closed in May 1987. Recently, Baptist University of America, Inc. (which is based in Mississippi), the former owner of Baptist University of America, established an online seminary called the Baptist University Institute for Leadership Development. As of 13 July 2010[update], the Baptist University Institute for Leadership Development is not accredited by any of the seven regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Daniel Lawrence Whitney (better known by his stage name, Larry the Cable Guy) attended for three years, dropping out after his junior year to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. James Ralph Sutton III (known as Jim, or Jimmy) attended for three years as well, played basketball, and transferred to Tennessee Temple University where he graduated.